Good tip for the VFFs at the airport. I flew to Montreal for the long weekend, and debated about wearing them for the flight, but wasn't "brave" enough. I was in very comfortable Clarks, but my KSOs would have felt nicer. Next time maybe?

rki, I buy about 80-90% of my weekly groceries at my local farmers market. My bison and elk come from local ranchers. The duck is from a farm called Greens, Eggs and Ham that practices permaculture with both vegetable production and poultry (duck, turkey, guinea fowl, Cornish hens).

Just4ME, I will definitely post more pictures! I am getting a new camera as a gift from my father for my trip, so I'll be playing with it lots over the next few weeks before I leave. I've been taking photos of my food for quite a while, even before I went primal, and I love to share them and see other people's photos so I can get ideas for new dishes. And, of course, I will take many pics on my trip.

Greensprout, the VFFs were great. The only thing I found was that my feet got a bit cold. I am considering getting some Flows for winter.

I'm leaving for India in just over three weeks. I'll be there for five weeks doing research and travelling, which will be the longest I've ever been out of the country at one stretch. It's definitely going to be an adventure!

“If I didn't define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people's fantasies for me and eaten alive.” --Audre Lorde

Bison with blueberries and chantrelles. I seared the bison steaks in the pan with some fresh-cracked pepper and a bit of coarse salt, then put them in the oven. Next, into the same pan, I added some butter and sauteed the chantrelles, then set them aside. I deglazed the pan with some merlot and then tossed in about a cup of blueberries that I froze a couple of months ago when I got a killer deal on them at the market. I cooked the blueberries in the red wine until they were tender and released some of their juice. Took the steaks out of the oven, poured the blueberries and sauce over top, and topped the whole thing with the mushrooms. My sweetie kept stopping between bites to kiss me and say thank you for the amazing meal, so I think it was a win
For dessert, I decided to experiment with making a primal crumble. Strawberries and rhubarb for the fruit, with a bit of tapioca starch to thicken it (a couple of tablespoons). Topped with unsweetened coconut, chopped pecans, and coconut oil. And, of course, I ate it with whipped heaven.

“If I didn't define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people's fantasies for me and eaten alive.” --Audre Lorde

Hello everyone! No beautiful food photos from yesterday (dinner with a good friend and some definitely 20% pho) or today (too tired to do anything fancy, dinner was some pastured pork patties, mixed veggies with butter, thyme, and coriander, and about four bites of sweet potato because I decided I was full and put the rest in the fridge).

Some happy primal-ness today!

First off, the WOD at my CrossFit gym was three rounds of 400m run, 20 pullups, and 20 dumbbell swings. I am pleased to say that I managed to run all 1200m, which sounds like not much except that I haven't run anywhere near that far since the horrible leg injury last year. So funny, 1200m used to be barely a warm-up and now I'm thrilled by it, but it really is an indicator that things are healing and the strength work has done tons to stabilize the knee. I also attribute some of this to the change in diet--the protein and fat have made a huge difference in my post-workout recovery, and I'm sure they've helped boost the healing in my leg. Also, I made a new PR for front squats (the strength workout for this morning).

The other bit was lunch today. I ended up rushing out the door this morning with no time to get together a proper lunch. I was out on the road this morning for a presentation, and as I was on my way back to the office I decided to grab some food. I ended up hitting the grocery store instead of the fast food joints, and I ended up with some organic mixed greens, a lovely organic tomato, some goat feta, some olives, some all-natural dairy/grain free sliced turkey, and some salad dressing with no sugar and pronounceable ingredients. I headed back to work and assembled myself a BAS. It was sooooo much more satisfying than a take-out salad--no iceberg lettuce here.

So, today's food:

Pre-workout: banana
Post-workout: whole milk latte from my beloved local coffee place
(I meant to eat breakfast in here but forgot about it)
Lunch: BAS
Dinner: pastured organic pork patties, mixed veg with butter, thyme, and ground coriander seed, four bites of baked sweet potato with butter, salt, and pepper
Post-dinner foraging: a couple of spoonfuls of whipped heaven left over from the crumble dessert the other night

Other lifestyle stuff:

Managed to get 7.5 hours of sleep. Woke up 10 minutes before my 5:00 am alarm. Not bad considering that it's now definitely dark that early. We are heading into the long, dark months, and I'm wondering how Grok-style sleeping is going to work when we get down to less than 8 hours of daylight.

As for using the brain, I'm on to a new set of courses for school, so I'm definitely learning new things. Lots of thinking about international development, globalization, and related issues. I love being a grad student.

Oh, and speaking of things, I've decided to quit my job at the end of December and find something part time. After the holidays, I will be in full-on thesis mode, and I'm finding that I'm just too exhausted right now with a high-demand job and full-time school. Something needs to change, and I am definitely not quitting school. It's a scary step, but I have a pretty sizeable research grant coming my way and some savings, so my partner and I should be able to manage for a bit.

“If I didn't define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people's fantasies for me and eaten alive.” --Audre Lorde

"...sweetie kept stopping between bites to kiss me and say thank you for the amazing meal, so I think it was a win..." Uhh, YEah! LOL That looks scrumptious!

"...Oh, and speaking of things, I've decided to quit my job at the end of December and find something part time. After the holidays, I will be in full-on thesis mode, and I'm finding that I'm just too exhausted right now with a high-demand job and full-time school. Something needs to change, and I am definitely not quitting school. It's a scary step, but I have a pretty sizeable research grant coming my way and some savings, so my partner and I should be able to manage for a bit..." Good for you! You have to find what works for YOU!